Ben Ingerson
By Sean Sweeney Journal Correspondent

Being the captain - or in Ben Ingerson's case, tri-captain - of a high school athletic team isn't always about scoring the most points or pulling down the greater number of rebounds. It's much more, and that is something the North Middlesex Regional star understands.

It means being a leader in every sense of the word.

Take this winter. Ben recently ended his final basketball season. The Patriots weren't the top team in Mid-Wach A, but it was his job - along with fellow captains Justin Gay and Kyle Capsalis - to keep the team at ease during the losing periods the team experienced.

"It's been rough. We've been trying to keep the team together; it's tough when you lose, you have to keep everyone together," he said. "During practice we try to keep the team upbeat, and coach (Eric Dellasanta) looks to us for that."

He also uses his leadership skills off the court, but nearby. The past two years, Ben has been a youth basketball league coach in the Townsend-Ashby-Pepperell program.

"It's wicked fun," Ben said. "I learned that I can't get angry with the young kids and that I have to give constructive criticism without hurting their feelings."

Ben's athletic accomplishments at North Middlesex are second to none. He played football and basketball each year, and ran spring track up until his junior year. His academic achievements are right up there, too, as he is a second-year member of the school chapter of the National Honor Society.

Ben also belongs to a leadership class at school that is working on a long-term project where students are making a video for prospective freshmen.

"We're making a movie to influence eighth graders to come to North Middlesex instead of private school," he explained. "We split it up into groups: one group is doing academics, one group is doing school spirit. I'm doing athletics with a few buddies of mine. We have tapes from basketball, football, field hockey - stuff like that, and we're going to put it together and make a film."

North Middlesex students typically are also heavily involved in community service, and Ben is one of them. He coordinated the Townsend Senior Center's Thanksgiving dinner. He also donated four hours each week last year to the Ramsey Rehabilitation Center in Leominster.

"We do a lot of service hours," he said. Ben has already committed to the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, where he plans to study athletic training and become a physical therapist.

He lives in Ashby with his parents, Steve and Cindy, and his younger brothers, Alex and Matt.